Chevron gears up for solar

A subsidiary of oil giant Chevron, and a sister company have completed one of the largest concentrating photovoltaic solar power plants in the nation at a tailings site in northern New Mexico, says the Stamford Advocate.

Chevron Mining (CMI) and Chevron Technology Ventures built the 1MW demonstration plant on 20 acres of the mining company's molybdenum operation near the village of Questa.

Chevron will use this project to evaluate the emerging technology as well as the feasibility of using impacted land for renewable energy development.

“We've been in the energy business a long time and we appreciate that it takes a long time to bring new technology to market, but if we don't start now, we'll never get there, and this is a great way of doing it,” Des King, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, told the Associated Press, says Canadian Business.

The idea of using brownfields, or other contaminated sites, for renewable energy development has become more popular. Analysts with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado have been working with the Environmental Protection Agency to review possible sites across the country.

The Interior Department also has been pushing to streamline development of solar projects on public land from New Mexico to Nevada, where the sun shines about 300 days out of the year.

“We made a concerted effort to use local resources and talent whenever possible, and I am convinced that this kind of community engagement was a crucial factor in getting the facility built safely and on time,” says Mark Premo, CMI president.

A report from Enhanced News Online says the field includes Soitec's concentrator photovoltaic system and has the capacity to generate about one megawatt of electricity, enough to power about 300 New Mexico homes. Electricity produced will be sold to Kit Carson Electric Co-operative through a power purchase agreement.

“We're pleased Questa is a potential starting place for an emerging solar technology”, says Mayor Esther Garcia. “This project goes a long way in demonstrating the unique solar resource we have in this part of New Mexico.”